NBC extends Matt Lauer's 'Today' contract despite ratings falloff

In this Friday, March 29, 2013, file photo, Matt Lauer, co-host of the NBC "Today" television program, appears during a segment of the show in New York's Rockefeller Center.

In this Friday, March 29, 2013, file photo, Matt Lauer, co-host of the NBC "Today" television program, appears during a segment of the show in New York's Rockefeller Center. (Richard Drew / Associated Press)

During the 1990s, Lauer and then-coanchor Katie Couric became America's favorite morning hosts. But his reputation took a huge hit in 2012, when cohost Ann Curry was forced off the program and gave viewers a tearful farewell as Lauer sat by, watching in a way that struck some as unsympathetic. Reports had blamed him for engineering her ouster -- an interpretation he disputed without offering a detailed counter-story.

Lauer's existing contract, which was due to expire soon, paid him up to $25 million per year, according to various reports, which the anchor himself said were inaccurate.

Reality competition shows allow viewers to recognize themselves in the contestants on-screen, either relating to overcoming a challenge or perhaps being inspired to get up and go have an adventure of their own.

A burst of thunderstorm activity across the Chicago-area in mid-afternoon Sunday resulted in multiple injuries and a death at an event in west suburban Wood Dale, the collapse of a dome in northwest suburban Rosemont and the temporary evacuation of the music festival Lollapalooza in Grant Park...

Now there are two: Zimbabwe accused a Pennsylvania doctor on Sunday of illegally killing a lion in April, adding to the outcry over a Minnesota dentist the African government wants to extradite for killing a well-known lion named Cecil in early July.

Donald Trump, widely believed to the be the wealthiest American ever to run for president, is nowhere among the ranks of the country's most generous citizens, according to an Associated Press review of his financial records and other government filings.